Learning to Love
by Stargazer345
Summary: Mikey thinks he's in love. Or is it just a small crush? But Mikey's detirmined to make his and Rosa's friendship more than that. No matter what his family and friends think... Second in the Reality Series
1. Another Friday, Another Arguement

Well. Here it is. I'm happy to finally get the first chapter up, and many are to follow. So, uh, um. ENJOY:D

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Another Friday, Another Argument

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Donatello stared at his brother in orange, a look that said what-are-you-thinking setting on his face. "You're going to do **what**, Mikey?" he asked for the fifth time since his brother told him what he was going to do next week. Michelangelo sighed. "I said, I'm going to introduce Rosa to the family. I've said this what, six times already?" Mikey replied once more. "I thought you'd have understood the first time, but evidently I must have been speaking French or something." 

Don put up his goggles so they sat on his head and stood from his seat, proceeding to look his brother over.

"What's the look for dude?" His brother had his signature curious look now, and his hand was at Mikey's temple, as if he was checking for a fever. Don picked up a stethoscope and put the cold, steely end to his chest, moving it around every second or two. He put the stethoscope away and sat in his chair with a defeated sigh, and looked at his happy-go-lucky brother, who now had an annoyed look written on his features.

"Well, you don't seem sick, and I'm pretty sure Raph hasn't beaten you senseless recently, so I take it you really mean to take her down here, right?" he said with a chuckle, Mikey rolling his eyes. "But bro, last time I checked, Leo and Raph still hate the fact you like her and continue to see her, remember?" Don continued with a glance at the computer room door.

Mikey looked at the door as well, with a look of distaste. "Well, it's not my problem they're so wound up, and hey," he turned to his brother who had come to stand beside him, a humongous smile replacing his frown. "It's not my fault they're jealous!" Don chuckled again, and continued the joke. "And who said I wasn't jealous? I might make a move on her, you know." he said with a grin.

"Oh, you might, huh? But I thought you liked April still?" Mikey retorted with a smirk. "And besides, you're **way** to shy and timid to do something as bold as that."

"Hey, people change, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. But for you to change, we'd have to give you an electrical shock and hope you wake up different."

"Same for you too." He brought his hand up and rubbed his chin for a second. "Maybe…nah, that wouldn't work."

"What won't work?" Mikey asked, now curious.

"Oh, I had hoped that Rosa might knock some maturity into you, but then again, Raph's been trying for years and failed." he explained with a chuckle. Mikey smiled. It was times like this that he enjoyed, when you can just relax and joke around. And with Don, those moments were rare. In fact, those moments with anyone were all but extinct because of his human contact. "Well, you gotta give him credit for trying though." he said with a shrug. Don nodded in agreement, a smile on his face.

"But, Mikey, are you absolutely, positively sure about bringing her down?" Don queried with a worried look. Michelangelo was silent for a few moments, and then nodded. "Absolutely. And think about it, if Leo and Raph meet her, they might warm up to her. I mean, she's really nice and I've told her all about you guys and everything, and she's perfectly okay with holding our existence a secret." he rambled, staring at no particular spot on the ceiling. "She's not like everyone else who's screamed and ran away."

Donatello looked at his brother, a cross of relief, concern, and worry etched in his face. "Okay, if you're sure. Good luck." And with that he turned back to the table he was at, put his goggles down and looked intensely at a machine part Mikey couldn't identify. Mikey himself walked through the computer room door and headed to the kitchen, the thought of food dancing around in his head and making him salivate.

He quickly got out peanut butter, jelly, bananas, and bread and proceeded to make his special Quintuple-Decker Banana Tower Sandwich. It took about an hour to eat, so once he made it, he would be at the table for awhile. So, it wasn't long before everyone else in the lair came out to eat dinner, to talk, and argue about Rosa. And around that time of day, Mikey usually tuned out on most of what was said. And around this time of day, Raph was in full steam and his is temper about to tip off.

And at that moment, Raph was pissed off and was taking it out on his punching bag. Earlier that morning, he hadn't been able to perfect a new kata, and he had lost to Leo in sparring. For the tenth time that week. And it did not help when Mikey bellowed for dinnertime.

"Come on everyone!! The soup's getting cold!" Mikey yelled out of the kitchen, the soup itself sitting on the counter in a big pot, which really wasn't cold at all. Raph stopped anyways, huffed, and stormed out of his room towards the dinner table, where Leo and Don had already gotten their soup and where sitting down at the table.

The temperamental brother continued into the kitchen to retrieve his share of soup from his least favorite brother at the moment, Michelangelo. He picked up his bowl quickly and stood before Mikey, a goofy grin plastered on his face. Raph only glared darkly at him.Seeing the look he was receiving, Mikey poured Raph his soup, and smiled softly. "Somethin' wrong?" Mikey asked as he proceeded to throw away the family size can of soup into the nearby trash can.

"Oh. Nuthin'. Nuthin' at all." Raph growled intentionally, his look darkening further. His orange masked brother grinned once again, and walked out and sat at the table, where Master Splinter had sat as well. Raphael followed, albeit grouchily, to the table as well and sat abruptly all the while glaring daggers at Mikey.

Mikey, pretending to be oblivious to Leo and Raph's stares, continued to sketch out a drawing of his cat, Klunk, who laid lazily on the edge of the table while Donatello petted him slowly. Master Splinter sipped his tea silently, occasionally glancing at each brother and sighing when he observed his oldest sons and their hateful manners.

"Finished!" he finally said, raising his drawing to show Don. Mikey grinned at Donnie's smile and nod, and turned to show his two moody brothers, who where still brooding. "Hey, what do you guys think?" he asked, his eyes bouncing between the two.

"It's okay." the one in blue said with a glare.

"…Nice." the other muttered through gritted teeth.

Mikey frowned at his brothers reactions, slowly putting down his drawing and sliding it to Master Splinter. He looked to his master, who now had a nice smile on his face, which brought a smile to his as well. "Do you like it?" he asked quietly. His mentor nodded in a yes.

He sighed contently. "Thanks. I'm gonna give it to Rosa." he declared before he could stop himself from saying Rosa's name. Mikey eyed Raph warily, noting that growling was coming from his throat. Donatello gulped, and glanced at the clock. "Uh, um, Mikey? It's 9:55. On Friday night. Shouldn't you be going?" he asked nervously, his fingers absent-mindedly twirling his mask tails.

"D'oh!" Mikey exclaimed with a face-palm. He dashed into his room for just a moment, emerged, now adorning a coat and fedora and held a few drawings in his hand, including his recent Klunk sketch, and dashed back out. He was quickly at the door, which he swung open swif-

"What can ya see in 'er?"

Michelangelo froze at the remark. Raph now stood inches from is baby brother, rage, hate, concern and many other emotions swirling inside of him. Despite being asked a question, Mikey remained silent and still.

"Well? Ya gonna answer?"

Mikey slumped considerably, and turned to face his enraged brother. He could already see Don heading towards his lab, while his master and Leo continued to watch. He sighed. "Can we talk later?"

"No. I wan' ta know now." Raph growled threateningly as he crossed his arms.

Mikey sighed once more. When Raph wanted something, he usually never stopped until he got it. He knew it was useless trying to get away now. "Fine. First off, she's beautiful. Understanding. Caring. And most importantly, she's not making a fit every time I leave." he whispered as he leaned closer to his face, a scowl replacing his nervous frown.

"I just find it sad that you can't get over it and let me and Rosa be. Or are you jealous?" he continued with a smirk. Raphael quickly turned red, and Mikey thought he could see steam coming from his brother's non-existent ears. "I. Am. Not!" he shouted.

"Sure you aren't. Now, if you'll excuse me."

And with a huff, he quickly turned and left, slamming the door in his wake, and leaving his older brothers more fumed than ever.

"Dumbass." came the red kappa's retort.

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Okay, I know, I know, the chapter was short. I'm pissed at myself too. But don't worry, the following chappies will be much longer! Remember, READ AND REVIEW!!!! Please?

God, I have so much to do.


	2. Plans

OH CRAP!!! It's been how long since I last updated!?!? Shoot, I'm sorry, I'm a stupid dumbass. DOH! Here's the next chapter. I'm going to hide from angry readers...

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Plans

"He's late… again." Rosa muttered to herself for the third time that month. She stood a top of her apartment building near the edge, sitting on the ledge and gazing out towards the direction her friend would always come from. She checked her watch. "9:52, and still not here." She muttered once more. The seventeen-year-old sighed, and wondered how long his friend's brothers would delay him. Michelangelo was getting more and more delayed as of late, and her friend always came in a more angered mood every Friday as well.

Being late didn't bother her at all, it was the knowing that his brother's had been stubborn and mean to Mikey was what troubled her more. It had once come to the point that he had said he wanted to live with **her** instead. She had managed to convince him not to do so, but he was still troubled, and it only made her want to set things right with his family. Yes, she knew of his family's history, and since Mikey had made sure to make her swear never to tell anyone else, she kept uptight and secretive to questions from her family about what she did on the roof every Friday.

But something was bothering HER that night, something she wished she could stop, but couldn't. She might lose a friend tonight…

Her watch now read 9:57. "Where is he?" she asked to no one in particular, a frown growing on her face, nervousness building within her.

Rosa perked up. She heard a soft pitter-patter of feet. A slight whoosh pierced the air. And soon, she felt a presence besides her breathing heavily. "Well, if you must know, I'm right here. Duh."

She continued to stare into the city lights off in the distance. "It took you awhile. How long were you arguing?"

The voice spoke again. "Not very long actually. I took some time to draw a sketch of Klunk, and then Raph decided to be an investigator. Nuthin' else."

Rosa nodded in understanding and turned to the figure that was proceeding to take off his fedora and coat, the figure being none other than Michelangelo. She smiled as he set aside a few sketches on an art easel they had set up on the roof two months ago, back in December, when they had first met. Since then, every Friday, they would choose a sketch to paint together. If they already were working on one, they would finish that one first and then move on to a new one.

And as they painted the sketches, they got to know each other more and more, and would occasionally go for a walk through the city. Ninja-style, of course. Rosa loved the rushing of air past her ears, the sudden weightlessness, that feeling of flying.

Mikey threw his disguise off to the side and picked up his sketches and walked over to her as he flipped through the pages of art. "Here are a few things I drew up yesterday and today. Which one do you think we should paint?" he asked with a questioning look, and handed her the sketches.

She began to flip through them like Mikey had done, and looked at each carefully. One showed Leonardo in mid-kick, another had a moonlit city, and another pictured streamers of many colors with Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey in between the streams of color, either grinning, smiling, or frowning.

"That one." She said and pointed at a drawing of a small oak tree that was situated in Central Park, with people that sat on a bench beneath the tree. Michelangelo looked at the drawing she chose, and smiled. "Good choice. I thought you'd pick that one." he commented as he headed over to the easel to set out the paints they'd need.

As her friend moved about, she continued to study the drawing she had chosen. She looked over the tree and how the bench was situated and how the people looked, trying to figure out the brushstrokes needed for each piece of scenery. She noted the different shades of color she'd need, and walked over to Mikey to help set up the canvas.

Now that the canvas had been set up, they tipped their brushes in a sky blue paint mixture, and started on the background. The strokes were fluid and horizontal, the darker, heavier sections of paint blending with the lighter, brighter sections. They quickly cleaned their brushes and got out green and brown, Mikey blending colors for the bark as Rosa continued to horizontally paint with the soft green.

"So Mikey, how have you been?" Rosa asked as Michelangelo proceeded to paint on the trunk of the tree. "Good enough, Raph's been holding in his temper, and Master Splinter's happy that I've been catching up on ninjitsu. It's been nice enough…." He told her, adding a few branches as Rosa painted a few bits of grass near the base of the trunk. "You?"

Rosa sighed. "Well, my older brother's moving out soon with his girlfriend, and my mom got another job," She paused. "And my mom's thinking about moving…"

Mikey nearly ruined the painting upon hearing her, but lifted the brush in time so it didn't ruin it. "What?" he asked, turning to her, a scared look on his face. Rosa looked away. "I might be moving soon…" she mumbled.

Mikey nearly fell over. _"No…NO! She …she can't move! " _He thought frantically, dropping his brush.

Rosa swiftly turned and hugged him tightly, a few tears glistening on her cheeks. He continued to stare ahead, not knowing whether to cry or not. "I'm so sorry Mikey." Rosa whispered, her hug growing tighter. "I couldn't convince her not to, she want's to move…"

"When, and where."

Rosa stopped hugging him, and drew back. "Sometime this week, but I don't know where." She muttered with a small tear.

"Can you find out?" Mikey asked, his face still blank.

Rosa began to head towards the fire escape. "Sure, but, why?"

Mikey smiled. "'Cause I'm gonna find a way to visit you, no matter where you go."

She smiled as well, a small smile to say the least. "…I'll be right back." She said as she continued down the fire escape, and slowly disappearing from view. Mikey sat down, thoughts rushing through his head. _"Sure my family won't like it, but I'm gonna visit her, at least every month." _He told himself in his head, still staring ahead.

Soon seconds became minutes, and Mikey had moved to the building edge, straining his eyes to find a star in the middle of all the bright city lights. He had calmed down a bit from what Rosa had told him, continuously telling himself she wouldn't move too far. He'd be able to see her, no matter what. Suddenly, thuds of shoes on metal came from the fire escape, and Rosa appeared, a blank expression on her face as well.

She walked to him and sat on the edge as well, looking at the city. She breathed for a moment, as if she was holding in something.

"Well?" Mikey finally asked, looking at her, studying Rosa's blank face. She didn't respond, and in a few moments, Mikey had feared the worst. "Rosa, where are you moving?" he pressed, leaning towards her slightly. She remained silent for a moment, and then a giggle came out of her mouth. Confused, Mikey raised an eye ridge.

Then he silence as shattered, laughing filling in the empty void, Rosa being the source. Mikey was startled, and fell backwards and landed on his shell, which earned another round of laughter from Rosa. "Rosa?! What the-?" Michelangelo started, but was interrupted. "We're moving a few blocks away!" Rosa exclaimed, redoubling her laughter, as she struggled to stand up and help Mikey.

Mikey was stunned, as he stood up from his previous position. "A few blocks away…?" Rosa giggled. "Yeah." Soon they were both laughing their heads off, both trying to stay upright. But they soon fell. They sat on the roof, forgetting to stand, and Mikey rolled around on his shell as they laughed. "So…hehe…where are you moving…haha…exactly?" he asked between chuckles.

"To the corner of Eastman and Laird." She recited her mother, smiling widely. Mikey sat up and grinned. "We pass that building on our runs! And it's close to us as well!" he said happily staring up at they sky. "That makes my plan a whole lot easier!"

Rosa turned to Mikey, a questioning look on her face. "What plan of yours?"

Michelangelo grinned even wider. "You know how you haven't met my family, right?"

She nodded lightly, a suspicious look now appeared on her face. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well, let's say I plan to introduce you to the family." he said, getting up. Rosa gasped, and stood up beside him. "Mikey? Have you lost your mind?! They'll kill you!" she told him, shaking his shoulders back and forth. Mikey pretended to act like a rag doll, and let his head loll about on his neck, his tongue sticking out. Rosa giggled a bit, but returned to her serious tone. "Mikey, you know that's a suicide mission, right?"

She let go of him, and Mikey brushed himself off. "Yeah, I know, but listen. If they never meet you, they'll never accept you." he said a serious look of his own resting on his face. It soon disappeared with a chuckle. "Well, It's mostly Raph and Leo who need to meet you, since Master Splinter and Don already think you're okay. Only the hard-head's need to meet you really." Rosa giggled and smiled, Mikey getting the desired effect.

Rosa shook her head and spoke. "So, when does this plan of yours take effect?" Mikey grinned even wider than Rosa thought possible. "Next Friday." he said, looking towards his home. "You won't need to bring anything, it's just introductions." he continued, his grin softening into a smile. "But if anything, you might want to bring a bulletproof vest, just incase Raph starts throwing his sais."

A giggled emenated from Rosa, and she put her hands on her hips. "I'll need a vest? More like YOU'LL need a vest, 'cause Raph's going to go after you, not me." she corrected him, Mikey putting on a stupid look. "Oh, I guess you're right... You know where I can get one?" He asked, smiling uneasily.

Rosa rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Raph isn't goiing to kill you. Maybe strangle, but not kill." she giggled, Mikey beginning to pout. "Whatever..." he mumbled, crossing his arms. "Hey, don't we have a painting to finish?" he quickly asked, shocked at his own stupidity.

"Whoops!" They both said as they scrambled towards the canvas.

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Okay, I've said I'd update quicker, but I lied. But once school starts up again, I'll be more bored and have more time writing than time on the computer. So that's good. Anyway, please Read and Review, reviews make me happy! Plus they make me update faster, I think... REVEIW!!!!!! 


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